OSWEGO, NY — Women’s Hockey defeated Morrisville Wednesday night 4-2 after a third period comeback from the Lakers. Kate Randazzo would get on the board first as Sara Cruise got the assist. This would push Oswego into the lead heading into the second period before the Mustangs netted two back to back goals within 30 seconds of each other. Morrisville would keep the lead into the third period until freshman Megan Teachout got on the board on a delayed penalty. That same powerplay, the Lakers would take the lead thanks to Amber Thomas and then Eryn Stewart would add one minutes later to secure the victory. Senior Rachael Farmer was solid in net as she saved 16 shots and recorded a .889 save percentage. This is the Lakers 10th win of the season as this pushes them above the other conference teams as they still hold the second seed. Oswego heads on the road Saturday to Utica for a 2 p.m. match up.
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Team Spotlight: Oswego State Field Hockey
OSWEGO, NY — As the unusual fall semester continues into the month of October, the Oswego State Field Hockey team would be in the heat of a competitive battle in the SUNYAC conference right about now. The 4-12-0 Lakers finished the 2019 season sixth in the conference standings, missing the playoff bracket. The group lost one senior at the end of the 2019 campaign, midfielder Riley Mallett. Head Coach Heather Moore touched on the impact the Suffern native made to the team.
“[Riley was] a leader by example, always the hardest worker on the field.” Moore said.
With much of the team returning for their 2021 season, Moore feels that the team will be able to pick up the leadership around the field. Moore expects the defensive core, backed by sophomore netminder Erica Scheblein to develop heading into this unusual season.
“Sometimes we ended up being a little too individualistic and not playing as much as a unit.” Moore continued, “with a higher level of communication and some confidence, they will become a stronger unit.”
The Lakers had a goal against average of 3.31 in conference play last season, which ranked them 6th among their competitors. On the other end of the turf, the team average 1.7 goals per game, a stat led by freshman Annie O’Neill. With the attacking front returning as well, Moore focused on bringing the team back to the fundamentals after the end of last season.
“Focusing on overall player development and improvement. Rebuilding our skills and our game sense, like our Field Hockey IQ.” Moore added, “retooling some things and getting our returners on the same page and having them work towards the same goals.”
The team was heading in that direction before the suspension of Athletics due to the concern of COVID-19 on the SUNY Oswego campus. Before this occurrence, the team was able to participate in three team practices in two individual pods. Although the group was happy to be back on the field together, Moore brought up the difficulty with the system.
“The hardest part was going back and forth from each pod and being able to give the right feedback at the right time,” Moore stated.
With no team activities now till the beginning of their season, the group will have to wait to take make their mark in the 2021 season. The Lakers will welcome five first year students onto their roster when the time comes. The group contains five individuals that play a range of positions.
“I have only seen them practice three times.” Moore further states, “but from what I can tell, they are going to be little sparks all across the field.”
These additions to the group will hopefully set the Lakers over the top once the calendar flips to 2021. The setback is something Moore is seeing the positives in, as the coach notices the break in the common rush of a season.
“It’s also nice to have a break and reflect about what worked, what did not work, and what do I see moving forward.” Moore said, “how I see them impacting in the future.”
As Moore and the rest of the coaching staff led their team into the rest of this semester, the coach’s message was simple and clear.
“It’s been a good lesson to all of us to remain flexible and adoptable. Using the information as it comes and managing your reactions.” Moore finished with, “I know things are crazy and keep changing, and it’s okay.”
Photo Provided by Oswego State Athletics
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Oswego women’s basketball team suffers tough loss against Plattsburgh
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The Oswego State women’s basketball team fell in their SUNYAC matchup against Plattsburgh State. The final score was 49-73 in favor of the Cardinals. Plattsburgh State was hot the whole game and proved to be too much to handle for the Lakers. At the half the Lakers were down by fourteen and despite an effort to bounce back, they could not find a rhythm to get the job done. The leading scorers for the women this game were senior Raiven Encarnacion with twelve points, and senior Danielle Caivana with eleven. Despite these two individual performances, Plattsburgh was able to hold the Lakers to 13.5% shooting on the night. The Lakers are now 3-9 on the season and 0-6 in the SUNYAC as they look to gain some momentum in their next matchup against Geneseo. Tip of is at 5:30 p.m. on January 19th on WTOP10!
Image Provided by Oswego State Athletics
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Oswego State Men’s Lacrosse Team Prepares For Season Finale
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Oswego Men’s Lacrosse team is set to play their final game of the 2021 season as they take on the Cortland Red Dragons on Friday, April 30th. This is the second matchup between the two teams this year, with the previous game ending in a 16-7 Cortland victory on April 9th. The 4 p.m. match up will take place in Cortland as the Red Dragons look to take the number one seed in the SUNYAC West.
Oswego is going into Friday’s contest on a 6-game losing streak including a 20-6 loss to the Geneseo Knights last week. In fact, the Lakers haven’t won a game since March 7th of 2020, their second-to-last game before the season was cancelled. The Red Dragons, however, have been dominant all season and are currently on a 5-game win streak. The Lakers need to generate enough offense to keep pace with Cortland’s explosive duo of Dante Yacavone and Zak Jones, who have 67 combined points this season. Oswego will be lead by junior attackman, Weston Gray, who leads the team in goals. The Lakers have also gotten solid production out of freshman midfielder, Lucas Cioch, who leads the team in assists and total points.
Unfortunately, history isn’t on the Lakers’ side in this matchup. The Oswego Men’s Lacrosse team is 0-37 versus Cortland all-time and will have to get their first ever win against the Red Dragons in order to avoid a winless season. Faceoff is set for 4:00 p.m. at Cortland.
